Seemingly every time Calgary Flames No. 20 Curtis Glencross came opposite Atlanta Thrashers No. 20 Colby Armstrong, there was words exchanged along with a few shoves and hacks.

Finally, in the third period of the Flames 3-1 win last night at the Saddledome, Glencross had enough of the former Red Deer Rebels captain.

The pair of Western Canadian kids dropped the mitts for the lone tussle in a game that lacked a physical intensity outside of the duo.

"I hit him early and knocked him down, and I don't think he liked that," said Glencross.

"On every draw, he would stick his foot in there or push his stick in and I just gave it back to him.

"He hit me awkwardly at the end of the game, and that's when we went."

At one point, Armstrong went down hard during a faceoff at the blueline, as Glencross pleaded his innocence.

Glencross earned the decision in the tussle as Armstrong went down early and took a pounding on the top of his head. As soon as the Flames winger hit the penalty box, he threw some ice on the knuckles.

The fight was only the third in Glencross' tenure with the Flames starting last season. He threw down the gloves with Stephane Veilleux of the Minnesota Wild and Francis Bouillon of the Montreal Canadiens in February.

"It's a matter of timing and heat of the moment," Glencross said. "It's not like I go looking for it, but sometimes, it happens.

"It's a game where we're back at home and we want to have a good battle."

The battle never seemed to stop, and after the fight, Armstrong drove to the Flames net to get the only goal from the visitors, but that's where the offence ended.